Five Phases To Fatherhood
by Ralinde
Summary: Severus slowly adjusted to the idea of becoming a father. The months of Lily's pregnancy come with ups and downs for him though.


_Disclaimer: Do we need to keep doing this every time? Okay, here we go again then: I am not JK Rowling, no matter how hard I wish._

Phase One – Finding Out

"Sev?" Lily's red hair popped around the door.

"Yes?" Severus looked up from the book he was reading.

"Are you busy?"  
"Not particularly, why?"

"I've got something I have to tell you."

Lily sounded a bit nervous and Severus put his book down. "That sounds serious," he said. "What's wrong?"

Lily went over to the couch and sat down next to Severus.

"Promise me you won't get mad?"

"I won't," he promised. "Now, spill it out."

"I-I've missed my period. And I did a test… and it came out positive."

There was a moment of silence.

"Please say something," Lily pleaded. "You're mad, aren't you?"

"No, you just caught me by surprise. How…?"

"You know when I had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago?"

Severus nodded. He remembered only too well. Lily had been violently sick and he had done naught but make her tea and biscuits, since they were about the only things she could hold inside.

"Apparently that affects it. Oh Sev, I don't know what to do! We've only just got our house, we're not ready to be parents!"

Severus wrapped an arm around his wife and made shushing sounds. The idea came as a shock to him, he had never seen himself as a father – not yet, anyway. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and kissed her.

"We'll manage," he whispered.

"You think so?" Lily didn't sound too convinced and he couldn't blame her. Merlin, how could he ever be a father?

"Sure, we graduated Hogwarts, we should be able to take care of a tiny human," he replied after a little pause with more confidence than he had. Truth was, he didn't have the faintest idea how one went about being a parent, but he carefully hid that for Lily. What if he'd turn out just like his own father? What if he'd mess up? And they couldn't have picked a worse time to have a baby, what with the war that was going on.

"We'll manage," he repeated, more to himself than for Lily. "We'll find a way."

Phase Two – Food, Food, Food

"Come on Sev, I need Pumpkin Pastries, now."

"Sweetheart, it's two in the morning," Severus complained and pulled the blankets over his head. "I'll get you some Pumpkin Pastries in the morning."

"But I need them now!" Lily pulled the blankets off of her husband. "The least thing you could do is try and be bit supportive," she said accusingly. "You're not the one having all the back pain and the stomach acid."

"Eating Pumpkin Pastries at two in the morning certainly won't help your stomach acid," he mumbled.

"Just go get them, okay?" Lily slapped him on the side.

"Fine, I'll go," Severus sighed. He knew he wasn't going to be getting any sleep lest he'd get her what she wanted. "Any idea where I might find a store open at this hour?"

"Try Galvin's."

Severus sighed again and got dressed. Really, pregnancy was fine on the whole, but the mood swings and the eating pattern… That was just a bit too much for him. He went outside and shivered. It was cold January night and he was still very sleepy. He had intended to walk over to Galvin's quickly and then walk back to the warmth of his bed just as quickly, but to his surprise he found the store open. Inside, Galvin, the shop owner, was warming his hands by a fire.

"What will it be?" he asked.

"Pumpkin Pastries," Severus said grudgingly.

"Ah, let's see, I should have them around here somewhere." He rummaged between the different stacks and came back triumphantly. "There you are. That'll be three Knut."

Severus put the three coins down.

"Just out of curiosity: why are you open in the middle of the night?"

"Well, someone has to help blokes like yourself respond to the female whimsies, right? How much longer do you have to go?"

Severus looked puzzled, and then it dawned on him. "Five and a half months."

"Good luck with that," Galvin said. "But you know, the first half is the worst. After that, they'll start wanting to decorate and such. You know what, here's an extra Pumpkin Pastry. It's on the house."

Severus eyed it suspiciously, then put it in the bag with the other ones. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just name your kid after me, will you?"

Severus didn't reply but just lifted his hand in a greeting as he left the store.

"No way will my kid ever be called Galvin," he muttered to himself. "Darn idiot."

Phase Three – Furniture Shopping

Things might've been different had it not been for the war, but shopping was impossible without scared glances over one's shoulder. No one wanted to be surprised by Voldemort's Death Eaters, and Lily and Severus were no exception. However, they needed to buy some furniture for the baby room.

Severus wiped a strand of black hair out of his face. He hated shopping and he tried to avoid this at all costs, but eventually he ran out of excuses and so he found himself forced to buy stuff for their baby. Over the months, he had grown accustomed to the idea of being a father and he smiled fondly whenever Lily rubbed her belly absentmindedly.

"You know, pregnancy suits you," he said and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

She smiled at him, a little surprised at the sudden sweetness.

"What about this wooden cradle? That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"If you say so."

"Sev!" she groaned. "Could you at least _try_ to be involved?"

"I _am_ involved," he said. "Sure, I had to get used to the idea at first, but now I'm actually looking forward to it. I just don't think a baby would notice how its cradle looked like, they just want to lie in it and sleep."

Lily punched him softly. "Honestly, you're such a phlegmatic man. You do not have to be critical _all the time_, you know."

"I know." He smiled. "But that's just who I am, Lils. If you wanted someone more _fun_, you should have married Potter instead," he teased.

Lily pulled a face. "Merlin, no. That was the biggest mistake of my life!"

They both laughed. When in Hogwarts, Lily had for a short time dated James Potter, a fellow Gryffindor, to make Severus jealous. The jealous making had worked, but other than that, it had been a complete and utter disaster.

Severus pulled her in for a hug. "Let's buy the wooden cradle," he said. "I'm sure that would be just what the baby room needs."

Phase Four – Fighting And Fainting

"It's all your fault!" Lily yelled, her face red and sweaty. "You did this to me!"

Severus knew objecting wouldn't get him anywhere, but he just couldn't help himself. "Don't try to blame me," he said. "It's not me who got the stomach flu."

Lily looked at him, shocked and furious and he realised that he had said exactly the wrong thing.

"Oh so now I'm to blame? I shouldn't have gotten sick in the first place? You're a prat, Severus Snape!"

"I'm sorry…" he began.

"Out!" Lily roared. "OUT! Her outburst was followed by an outcry of pain and Severus looked helplessly at the Healer.

"You might want to step out for a bit," the Healer advised. "But don't go to far. She'll calm down in a bit and then she'll want you beside her."

Severus cast another glance at an angry Lily and left the delivery room. Outside, he paced up and down impatiently. He had heard the stories about childbirth, but he had never thought that Lily, his Lily, who he had known since they were nine or ten years old, would kick him out and scream at him like that. He hoped that the Healer was right, that he would soon be allowed back in. For he wanted to be there for her, wanted to by her side.

At last, after what seemed like hours but in reality must have been about only twenty minutes, he was allowed back in. He carefully approached the bed and smiled apologetically at Lily. "I'm sorry about what I said."

Lily nodded but didn't answer as another contraction washed over her. She squeezed Severus' hand and he grimaced. But he didn't say anything, because this was what he was here for, wasn't he? To support his wife.

The Healer urged Lily to push and she did.

Severus made the mistake of looking at the other end of the bed and instantly noted all the blood and the mess that were the usual signs of childbirth. He felt himself go nauseous by the sight and his breathing quickened.

No, no, he had to be there for Lily, he had to be….

With a loud thud the body of Severus Snape fell to the floor, so he was oblivious to the first wailing of his newborn daughter.

Phase Five – A Familiar Face

When he came back around, Lily held a bundle of linen in her arms. Her face was red and puffy but she looked positively radiant.

"Come have a look at you daughter," she smiled at him.

Severus took a step closer and peeked inside the bundle of linen. There was a little girl wrapped in them, a little tuft of reddish hair sticking out of it.

"She looks like you," he told Lily. "She's just as beautiful as her mum." He planted a kiss on Lily's forehead and looked in adoration at his daughter.

"She has your eyes," Lily said.

He wondered what that would look like: his eyes combined with Lily's face. His daughter soon answered that question when she yawned and then opened her eyes. He found himself staring in the dark brown eyes he only knew from the mirror. "She's beautiful," he repeated.

Lily nodded. "Yes, our little Amaranth is perfect."

Amaranth was the name they had decided upon if the baby were to be a girl.

Severus couldn't agree more. Amaranth Sophie Snape was the most beautiful baby he had ever seen. He didn't care that there was war going on. All that mattered to him now, was his family and he would protect them with all his might.

_A/N: This was written for the following competitions on the HPFC: _

_- Hogwarts Games 2012, category men's football (write about fanon pairings), round 1.3 (Severus/Lily)_

_- School Subjects Competition, category Transfiguration (write something non-canon)_

_- Creatures of Hogwarts Competition, category Werewolf (write a story involving hormones)_

_- Honeydukes Competition, category Pepper Imps (write about someone being mad/upset)_

_- Pairing Diversity Boot Camp with the prompt "oblivious". _


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